By Andre Sobocinski, historian, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
From the dawn of the U.S Navy, African-Americans have played a vital role in its history and have embodied the basic tenets of service and commitment to duty. At the same time, the African-American experience in Navy history is a story about breaking barriers, living through a segregated service, and overcoming limitations of opportunity(1) on the path to what Admiral Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt called “One Navy.” Below, are the names of some of the “first” African-Americans in the Navy Medical Department who trail blazed a path for all who came afterward.